goody two shoes

American  

noun

(sometimes initial capital letters)

PLURAL

goody two shoes

1. a goody-goody.

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goody two-shoes Idioms  

1. A prudish, self-righteous individual, a goody-goody. For example, Phyllis was a real goody two-shoes, tattling on her friends to the teacher. This expression alludes to the main character of a nursery tale, The History of Goody Two-Shoes (1765), who was so pleased when receiving a second shoe that she kept saying “Two shoes.” The goody in the story is short for goodwife but means “goody-goody” in the idiom.

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Etymology

Origin of goody two shoes

After the title character of The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes (1765), a nursery tale perhaps written by Oliver Goldsmith

Example Sentences

“It’s really good for the neck. I wouldn’t endorse it if I didn’t believe in it. Not that I’m a goody two shoes, but I wouldn’t do it. That’s a lie. We don’t do fake news.”

From Washington Times

When she made her first solo album, she recalled to The New York Times in 2014 that her goal was to be “a little ’50s pinup” — “a good girl, goody two shoes, Audrey Hepburn, classic, safe, feminine, soft, girlie.”

From New York Times

Day, who once dismissed her “goody two shoes” image as “so boring”, isn’t necessarily predictable.

From The Guardian

CEOs of companies are responsible for maximizing profits, not for making sure their business partners are all Miss Goody Two Shoes.

From The Guardian

She called herself a “goody two shoes” in a 2012 interview with the Telegraph and opened up about why she hadn’t started a family: “It just didn’t happen,” she said.

From Time